Organic Farming

2011-ag-3520
1. What is Organic Farming?
B.Sc.(Hons) Agri. Sciences (Agronomy-5th
)
2. Methods involved in
Organic Farming
umar.nawaz92@gmail.com
Umar NawazUmar Nawaz
01/25/15 1

Organic
Farming
umar.nawaz92@gmail.com01/25/15 2

What is Organic Farming?
Organic agriculture is a production system that
sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people.
Organic Farming, system of agriculture that excludes
the use of synthetic pesticides, growth hormones,
antibiotics, genetically modified seeds and animal
breeds, and irradiation. Organic farmers instead rely
on ecosystem management, including the use of
pesticides and fertilizers derived from plants, animal
wastes, and minerals.

Methods &
Materials in
Organic Farming.

• Recycled and composted crop
wastes and animal manures
• The right soil cultivation at the
right time
• Crop rotation
• Green manures and legumes
• Mulching on the soil surface
A. To keep and built good soil structure
& Fertility:

B. To control pests, diseases
and weeds
• Careful planning and crop choice
• The use of resistant crops
• Good cultivation practice
• Crop rotation
• Encouraging useful predators that eat
pests
• Increasing genetic diversity
• Using natural pesticides

C. Organic farming also
involves
• Careful use of water resources
• Good animal husbandry

umar.nawaz92@gmail.com
• Increase long-term soil fertility.
• Control pests and diseases without
harming the environment.
• Ensure that water stays clean and safe.
• Use resources which the farmer already
has, so the farmer needs less
• Money to buy farm inputs.
• Produce nutritious food, feed for
animals and high quality crops to sell at
a good price.
Why Farm Organically?
01/25/15 8

1. Crop Rotation
________________
• To produce a
healthy crop an
organic farmer
needs to manage
the soil well.
• This involves
considering soil
life, soil nutrients
and soil structure.
Choice of crops
• Soil type
• Rainfall
• Altitude
• Temperature
• The type and amount
of nutrients required
• The amount of water
needed

Rotations
• A typical 4 year rotation would include a
cycle with maize and beans, a root crop
and cereals with either of the following;
1. Grass or bush fallow (a fallow period
where no crops are grown).
2. A legume crop where a green manure,
which is a plant grown mainly for
the benefit of the soil, is grown

A simple rotation that includes a
legume

2.Composting
Definition:-
• Compost is organic
matter (plant and
animal residues) which
has been rotted down
by the action of bacteria
and other organisms,
over a period of time.
Materials such as
leaves, fruit skins and
animal manures can be
used to make compost.
Compost;
• Improves soil structure
• Improves drainage
• Reduce soil erosion
• Improves soil fertility
• Improves water
holding Capacity
• Reduces pest and
diseases in soil and on
crop.

Ways to Make Compost
• Indore method
• Bangalore method
• Heating process/Block method
• Chinese high temperature stack
• Pit composting
• Trench composting
• Basket composting
• Boma composting

Layer of Compost Heap

3.Mulching
• Mulching
means
covering the
ground with a
layer of loose
material such
as compost,
manure, straw,
dry grass,
leaves or crop
residues.
• Decreasing water loss due
to evaporation
• Reducing weed growth by
reducing the amount of
light reaching the soil
• Preventing soil erosion
• Increasing the number of
micro-organisms in top soil
• Adding nutrients to the soil
and improving soil
structure
• Adding organic matter to
the soil

How to use mulches
• Always apply mulches to a warm, wet soil.
Mulch applied to a dry soil will keep the soil
dry.
• Care should be taken as to the thickness of
the mulch applied. Too much mulch will
prevent air flow and encourage pests.
• To allow the germination of planted seeds
through the mulch, a layer of less than
10cm should be used.
• To clear an area of land of persistent weeds
a layer of 10cm or more can be used.

4.Green manures
Green manures, often
known as cover crops,
are plants which are
grown to improve the
structure, organic
matter content and
nutrient content of the
soil.
They are a cheap
alternative to artificial
fertilizers and can be
used to complement
animal manures.
• Increase and recycle
plant nutrients and
organic matter
• Improve soil fertility
• Improve soil structure
• Improve the ability of
the soil to hold water
• Control soil erosion
• Prevent weed growth
• Stop nutrients being
washed out of
the soil.

5.Weed control
• In organic farming
systems, the aim is
not necessarily the
elimination of
weeds but their
control. Weed
control means
reducing the effects
of weeds on crop
growth and yield.
• Crop rotation, Hoeing
and Mulching
• Hand-weeding or
mechanical weeding
• Planting crops close
• Green manures
• Soil cultivation carried
out at repeated
intervals and at the
appropriate time,
• Animals as weeders to
graze on weeds

6.Natural pest & disease control
• The aim of natural
control is to restore
a natural balance
between pest and
predator and to
keep pests and
diseases down to
an acceptable
level. The aim is
not to eradicate
them altogether.
• Chemical control
• Natural control

Natural control
• Growing healthy, resistant and Companion crops.
• Local varieties are better at resisting local pest
and diseases than introduced varieties.
• Timely planting.
• Companion planting
• Trapping or picking pests from the crop.
• Identifying pest and diseases correctly. This will
prevent the farmer from wasting time or
accidentally eliminating beneficial insects. It is
therefore useful to know life cycles, breeding
habits, preferred host plants and predators of
pests.
• Organic Farming and crop rotation.

7.Careful use of water
• In arid lands the careful use of water is as
much a part of organic growing as is any
other technique.
• There are many ways to use water
carefully, including:
• The use of terracing, rain water basins or
catchments and careful irrigation
• The addition of organic matter to the soil to
improve its ability to hold water
• The use of mulches to hold water in the soil by
stopping the soil surface from drying out or
becoming too hot

8.Animal Husbandry
• In an organic system, the welfare of the
animals is considered very important.
• Animals should not be kept in confined spaces
where they cannot carry out their natural behavior
such as standing and moving around in an
inadequate amount of space. However, care should
be taken that animals do not damage crops.
• Food for animals should be grown organically.
• Breeds should be chosen to suit local needs and
local conditions and resources
These factors help to ensure that livestock are
more healthy, better able to resist diseases and
to provide good yields for the farmer

International standards
• The International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM) has produced a set of
international organic standards, laid
down by people from many
countries. These give guidelines
about what organic farming is and
how it should be practiced on the
farm.

An organic farmer should try to
• Grow a mixture of crops in the same field (mixed
cropping, intercropping, strip cropping)
• Grow different varieties of the same crop
• Use as many local crop varieties as possible
• Save the seed of local and improved crop
varieties rather than relying on buying seed from
outside the farm every year. Exchange of seed
with other.
• Farmers can also help to increase diversity, and
ensure the survival of the many traditional crop
varieties which are being lost as they are
replaced by a few modern varieties.

Further Reading
• Field Notes on Organic Farming (1994) JW Njoroge.
Kenya Institute of Organic Farming, PO Box 34972,
Nairobi, Kenya.
• Natural Crop Protection Based on Local Farm
Resources in the Tropics and Subtropics(1986) G
Stoll. Intermediate Technology Publications, 103-
105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, UK.
• Natural Pest and Disease Control H Elwell and A
Mass. Natural Farming Network, PO Box CY 301,
Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe.
• Sustainable Agriculture Practices and Technologies:
Guidelines for farmers (1997). Africa 2000 Network,
UNDP, PO Box 7184, Kampala, Uganda.

Courtesy
URL:
• http://efma.org
• http://peterlanger.com
• http://farmedia.org
• http://etagriculture.com
• http://spiritualneighborhood.org/agriculture.com
• IFOAM.com
Printed materials:
• Text books of our class
• Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
• University library

Question Answers

Thanks
&
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Organic Farming

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